September 20, 2011

Did
India snatch defeat from the jaws of victory during its prime minister’s first
visit to Bangladesh in 12 years? The answer is largely yes, although the visit
also registered some gains. On balance, the Indian leadership squandered a
historic chance to overcome mutual distrust and transform the India-Bangladesh
relations to a point where they reflect the potential for exemplary cooperation
between the two neighbours, with huge benefits to both and to the South Asian
region.

The
visit’s biggest vitiating factor was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, who adopted an unreasonable and parochial stand on sharing the waters
of River Teesta and pulled out of the trip. Could her obstinacy and
temperamental behaviour have been anticipated? Was enough groundwork done to
prepare her for an equitable sharing of the river’s waters? There are two
divergent accounts of this. One says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s
representatives, including National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, tried
hard to convince Banerjee that the interests of her state, in particular, the
North Bengal districts, were being taken care of in the Teesta agreement with
water shared in a 52:48 ratio between the two countries. Banerjee first agreed,
but suddenly raised micro-level issues, such as sharing the flows during the
lean season. During that season, West Bengal, she insisted, would concede no
more than 25 percent of the flow at a barrage called Gazaldoba, which lies 90
km inside Indian territory. Menon took this proposal to Bangladesh for
discussion.

But
meanwhile, Banerjee abruptly decided to boycott the trip. She is reportedly
extremely keen to build a base for her Trinamool Congress party in North
Bengal, where the Left and the Congress are traditionally strong. According to
the second account, the Central government failed to reassure Banerjee
sufficiently, and could have done so had it worked harder on the larger
picture. At that picture’s centre is the historic wrong India committed by
unilaterally diverting the waters of the Ganga by building a barrage at Farakka
in 1975. This was grossly unfair in and of itself. Worse, the diversion caused
enormous losses of food and fisheries production in Bangladesh for almost two
decades. According to Ashok Swain of Sweden’s Uppsala university, Farakka
changed the river’s hydrology, “disrupted fishing and navigation, brought
unwanted salt deposits into rich farming soil, [and] affected agricultural and
industrial production ...”, causing an annual loss estimated at 2 to 2.5
percent of the GDP. This is equivalent to the effect of the entire Information
Technology sector being taken out of the Indian economy! Even worse was the
human tragedy, including large-scale displacement, destitution and forced
migration.

Farakka
became a symbol of Indian domination and stoked anti-Indianism in Bangladesh,
which the Right cynically exploited. Anti-Indianism entered the mainstream.
Banerjee could have been persuaded to understand the importance of undoing this
blunder. She might even have comprehended the inequity of the current Teesta
water-sharing pattern, under which India reportedly has access to about 32,000
cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water during the lean season for eight
million people, while Bangladesh must make do with just 5,000 cusecs for 20
million. Unfortunately, such a focussed effort was not made. Even if it had
been, it’s conceivable that Banerjee would still have been obstructionist – for
wholly narrow, short-term political reasons. As a last resort, the Centre could
have asked for more time to negotiate a satisfactory Teesta accord, and still
tried to get Banerjee on board. That didn’t happen. The Teesta failure is a
huge setback to the cause of radically reforming Indo-Bangladesh relations.

Singh’s
Dhaka visit was billed as a game-changer, which would pave the way for a Bay of
Bengal community, including Burma, and provide greater linkages with Nepal and
Bhutan, thus promoting South Asian integration. It would also greatly
facilitate transit and trade between India’s northeast and the mainland.
Transporting 45 percent of all goods to the region through waterways, roads,
rail and air links via Bangladesh would yield enormous savings in fuel and
time. The advantages of developing this backward and restive northeast cannot
be overstated. India must reverse the damage by negotiating fair and equitable
agreements on all the shared rivers with Bangladesh as quickly as possible.
India must acknowledge that Bangladesh has legitimate concerns about some Indian
dam projects such as Tipaimukh in Manipur. These must be addressed in a
cooperative spirit. The Bangladesh government has acted positively on India’s
demands on transit and security. It has refused to provide sanctuaries to
insurgent groups from the northeast, enabling the agreement now being reached
with the United Liberation Front of Asom.

Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has gone out of her way to meet Indian requests, often
at the risk of being branded unacceptably pro-Indian. India should do more than
reciprocate all this. Indian policymakers need to remind themselves of the
Gujral Doctrine, a worthy principle which held that India’s dealings with all
her neighbours barring Pakistan must go beyond strict reciprocity, to
generously unilateral gestures. (I would argue this should apply to Pakistan
too, especially in trade and people-to-people exchanges, but that’s another
matter.) The Gujral Doctrine created goodwill for India, and helped counter the
charge that India has a Big Brother-like attitude towards its smaller
neighbours and doesn’t hesitate to interfere in their internal affairs, as it
did by sending troops to Sri Lanka, imposing an embargo on goods going to
Nepal, and militarily intervening in the Maldives. It’s imperative that India
rectify not just the image, but the object (its relations).

As
India-Bangladesh relations go, it is not enough for New Delhi to rest on the
small gains made through the various agreements signed in Dhaka on the land
boundary, biodiversity conservation, economic cooperation, and a $750 million
loan for trade infrastructure, etc. India must correct the huge imbalance in
bilateral trade, with a deficit of $4.5 billion vis-à-vis a country that’s 15
times smaller in economic size. Readymade garments make up 80 percent of Bangladesh’s
exports. In 2008, India started giving “duty-free” access to them, but still
levied a countervailing duty of 4 to 12 percent, thus taking away with the left
hand what was given with the right hand. The garment quota was raised from
eight million pieces to 10 million last year, but Bangladesh exhausted this
year’s quota in the first six months.

India
still has 480 items on its “negative” trade list for Bangladesh. But if all
these were to be given true duty-free access, it would cost India a paltry $5
million loss in revenue, according to a 2008-09 estimate by the Centre for
Policy Dialogue in Dhaka. Such access would greatly boost investment, growth
and employment in Bangladesh, with immense benefits for regional integration.
India must develop imaginative strategies in trade, economic and cultural
cooperation, education and action to combat climate change. Bangladesh is one
of the world’s most climate change-vulnerable countries. Parts of India’s East
Coast are equally vulnerable. Cyclone Aila, which devastated large swathes in
Bangladesh and India’s Sunderbans, showed this in 2009.

As
a precondition for this change of stance, India must stop seeing itself
primarily as part of the global Big League and relate seriously to the South
Asian region to which it belongs, geographically, culturally and strategically.

The
writer, a former newspaper editor, is a researcher and peace and human-rights
activist based in Delhi. Email: prafulbidwai1@yahoo.co.in

September 9, 2011

There is little question of the
pre-eminence Mamata Banerjee holds in Indian national politics, a place she has
earned over the years through, first, her active role in the Indian National
Congress and then in her own Trinamul Congress. She was a leading voice of
dissent in West Bengal (recently renamed Paschimbanga) until she ran the Left
Front out of power in the state in May this year. Equally significant has been
her role in two union governments, in which she has served as minister for
railways both times. Her present role as a crucial coalition partner in the UPA
government in Delhi is a reality the powers that be in India do not ignore, for
reasons which are only too obvious.

It was therefore only natural for
everyone in Bangladesh to have been enthused by the thought that Mamata
Banerjee would be on the team Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would lead to the
talks with the Bangladesh government in Dhaka. As chief minister of a state
with which Bengalis on this side of the political frontier have shared culture,
indeed heritage and for a long time a state of unified politics (until the
vivisection of the subcontinent in 1947), she certainly could have looked
forward to a warm welcome from us. Now that she has decided not to be in
Bangladesh with her nation's prime minister, we are truly saddened and
genuinely surprised.

Our surprise is there because her
refusal to be in Dhaka has given a sudden battering to our expectations. Where we
had expected that Ms. Banerjee would play a major role in ensuring that the
people of Bangladesh and the people of Paschimbanga shared the waters of the
Teesta, as they have shared so many things throughout their long association in
history, we are now left handling a situation where we must scramble to undo
some of the damage she may have done to the future of India-Bangladesh
relations. Clearly, the chief minister is unhappy at the way the Manmohan Singh
government has been conducting negotiations with the Bangladesh government,
with the probable terms of the deals Delhi and Dhaka mean to reach on key
issues of common interest. By opting out of the trip to Dhaka, she has likely
pushed back an opportunity for Bangladesh and India to inaugurate a new, more
mutually beneficial relationship between each other.

We understand that Mamata Banerjee is
miffed at the union government's failure to take her on board as it has sought
to hammer out a deal with the Bangladesh government. The government, she has
reasons to feel, would not have dealt with a Left Front administration (had it
been in office) the way it has dealt with hers. She puts it across to people
that the Indian prime minister has kept her in the dark about the negotiations
in Dhaka. That, again, is rather a far-fetched idea, seeing that it would be
politically naïve, even suicidal, on the part of the Delhi authorities to
ignore a critical state, one with which Bangladesh shares much more than rivers
and a border, as they go into hammering out a deal with Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and her government. The extent to which Ms. Banerjee's feelings may have
been misplaced is borne out by the fact that the union government kept her
fully apprised of what it meant to do in Dhaka. Senior government functionaries
were in touch with her three times and kept her posted on the details of the
draft agreements to be discussed with the Bangladesh authorities. That only
upholds the collegial attitude the Manmohan Singh administration has adopted in
governance. Where the Trinamul is concerned, the prime minister has been
particularly careful, especially since he needs the Banerjee government's
support on any deal with Bangladesh over the Teesta waters and especially again
because the Trinamul Congress happens to be a key element in the ruling
coalition in Delhi.

The question, ours, is then simple:
given the facts, why did the Paschimbanga chief minister pour cold water, in
that clichéd manner of speaking, on a bright new promise that looked about to
open up a shining new dawn for the people of Bangladesh and India? That matters
had been discussed with her, that the political system India is governed by
affords little room for the centre to bypass state governments on anything of
either a domestic or international nature, is a truth that does not come into
question. And yet Mamata Banerjee, clearly for reasons that she has not spelt
out, reasons we suspect have to do with domestic Trinamul politics in her
state, has now pushed the entire gamut of Delhi-Dhaka negotiations into a bad
state of uncertainty. We cannot but reflect on whether Jyoti Basu or Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee would do what Mamata Banerjee has done. Basu remains a hugely
loved figure in Bangladesh. Bhattacharjee has always been aware of the
historicity of the links which have consistently kept the two Bengals in a
state of firm bonding.

Our disappointment at Mamata Banerjee's
withdrawal from the negotiations in Dhaka is deep. Even so, we keep hope going
-- that Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina will yet strike a deal which will
reinforce the links between their countries, that they will give a new meaning
to history through injecting new substance and impetus into its various and
varied contours.

The writer is Editor, Current Affairs,
The Daily Star. E-mail: bahsantareq@yahoo.co.uk

Indian negotiators still unaware of West
Bengal's special objections to water deal, highly placed sources say.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said
that the West Bengal government assented to a strategic water-sharing agreement
with Bangladesh before backing out of it over the weekend — and thus forcing
India to resile on its international commitments.

Dr. Singh said he had consulted with
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for over a month on the details of the treaty,
asking National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon “to seek guidance from her.”
“I was told that all technical details were sorted out,” Dr. Singh told
journalists on-board his flight home from Dhaka.

Last week, the Trinamool Congress
raised objections to the draft treaty at a meeting of the Cabinet's Political
Affairs Committee. “I again sent Shankar Menon to visit Kolkata,” Dr. Singh
said. “He had a meeting, and what the Chief Minister said, and what Mr. Menon
understood, he took to Dhaka, and the arrangement was made.”

But, Dr. Singh continued, “some other
factors came up and therefore Ms. Banerjee said that she will not accompany me
to Dhaka. “It was only subsequently,” he insisted, “that I learned her
disagreement was on account on what we were attempting to do on the Teesta.”

Indian negotiators, a highly placed
government source told The Hindu, have still received no explanation for West
Bengal's eleventh-hour decision to reject the draft water-sharing treaty —
making it impossible for them to explain the country's stand to their
Bangladesh counterparts or to lay the foundations for an alternative agreement.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina Wajed said on Tuesday night that New Delhi and Dhaka had “reached an
understanding on water-sharing in the Teesta and Feni rivers” — the first
official acknowledgment of just how close negotiators were to closing a deal.

The agreement, diplomatic sources told
The Hindu, envisaged that India would be entitled to just under half the
Teesta's waters, and called for both sides to carry out joint studies on how
much was available before setting up a bilateral body charged with
administering the treaty.

However, New Delhi was forced back out
of the deal just hours before the Prime Minister's arrival in Bangladesh, after
Ms. Banerjee refused to travel with him to Dhaka. Ms. Banerjee has made not
offered an explanation of precisely what objections she has to the proposed
treaty, but sources in her party said the draft presented to Bangladesh
differed from the one she discussed with Mr. Menon.

The Prime Minister declined to discuss
Ms. Banerjee's claims, saying he did not want to “enter into a disputation.”

The
troubled Teesta

Even though farmers in Bangladesh will
be the immediate beneficiaries of the Teesta treaty, it has huge implications
for India. The treaty, which will provide a template for agreements to share
the waters of 53 rivers with Bangladesh, will also help India establish
principles for pressing its claims to rivers originating in China.

India and Pakistan began talking about
the Teesta's waters soon after Independence. The talks went nowhere. In 1961,
India adopted unilateral plans to build a barrage on its side of the border,
raising concerns downstream.

Following more years of failed talks,
the United Nations General Assembly adopted a consensus statement in 1976 which
directed both countries to arrive at a “fair and expeditious” agreement. Even
though the India-Bangladesh joint rivers commission held over a 100 meetings, a
deal could not be hammered out.

Bangladesh completed construction of
the Dalia barrage, the country's largest irrigation project, in 1979. The Dalia
project was intended to use the Teesta's waters to irrigate some 540,000
hectares of land in the country's northern rice-growing heartlands. From 1985,
the 4,500-km canal network meant to carry the Teesta's waters to farmers opened
its gates.

The farmers got the water they
desperately needed — but then, just a few years later, the canals ran dry.

In 1993, farmers in West Bengal began
to get water from the Gazoldoba barrage in Jalpaiguri, which India had built on
the Teesta. The Indian project supplied water for 228,000 hectares — farmers
who used their votes to ensure that their needs were met before Bangladesh.

From 1996, scholars Yoshiro Higano and
Muhammad Fakrul Islam have noted, India's “exclusive control of the Teesta's
water in the dry season at Gazoldoba made the Dalia barrage useless.” In the
monsoon, they said, releases of water from the barrage caused “floods and bank
erosions, leading to serious suffering”.

In 1997, though, a draft treaty on
the Teesta was hammered out, a year after the former West Bengal Chief
Minister, Jyoti Basu, helped steward a landmark treaty on the Ganga. “He was a great man,” the Prime Minister acknowledged
today.

Little progress was made in the decade
and a half since, breeding bitterness in desperately-poor Bangladesh where
farmers are hit by crippling water shortages in low-rainfall years.

West Bengal sheds the colonial legacy in its name by
becoming Pashchimbanga, but not everyone is happy.

THE
proposed change of name of the State of West Bengal to Pashchimbanga has roused
mixed emotions. The new name was accepted unanimously at an all-party meeting
on August 19, following the submission of the proposal of the two-member
committee set up for the specific purpose of changing the name. The two members
of the committee were State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee of
the Trinamool Congress and Leader of the Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist). “The main rationale behind the name change
was that we all wanted to drop the colonial legacy attached to the name West
Bengal. All other States have dropped any such colonial appendage and it was
important for us to do so too,” Mishra told Frontline.

The
first choice of the Left Front was “Bangla”, which was reportedly not liked by
the Congress. “Our second choice was Pashchimbanga, which we proposed mainly to
facilitate a unanimous decision,” said Mishra. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,
while maintaining that her party, the Trinamool Congress, did not have any
particular favourite, said her own personal choice was “Bangabhumi”. But she
was quick to accept “Pashchimbanga” as the consensus choice.

EARLIER MOVE

Ironically,
in 1999, when there was a move to change the State's name during the chief
ministership of the late Jyoti Basu, it was the Left that had suggested the
name Pashchimbanga. The Congress rejected it in favour of “Bangla”. However,
when an all-party delegation from the State went to meet the then Union Home
Minister, L.K.Advani, the matter was not met with much enthusiasm. “The
proposal was not directly turned down, it was suggested that the name Bangla
was too similar to Bangladesh, which might lead to future confusions,” Mishra
told Frontline.

REACTIONS

The
announcement of the new name was accompanied by a collective groan of
disappointment from across the State. From intellectuals and celebrities to
students and professionals, many have been vocal about their dissatisfaction.
The main objection is that it is no change at all, as Pashchimbanga in
translation means West Bengal and has always been in use in the vernacular. “I
do not find this change of name satisfactory. Pashchimbanga and West Bengal
amount to being the same thing. There has been no real name change. I
personally would have preferred the name Banga or Bangabhumi as the Chief
Minister herself said she would have liked,” the legendary Bengali thespian
Soumitro Chatterjee told Frontline. The renowned film director Mrinal Sen was
of a similar opinion. “The word Pashchim should not be there. I believe it
should be Bangla or Bangabhumi,” he told Frontline.

Neither
were people convinced by the justifications provided by the government for its
decision. One of the reasons cited was that the State would be going a few
notches up the alphabetical order (from ‘W' to ‘P'), which would improve its
prospects vis-a-vis other States during Central meetings and conferences. “If
going up the alphabetical order was a criterion, then why not simply change the
name to Bangla? Besides, the name does not make sense as there is no ‘Purbo'
[East] Bengal any more. It is also a completely Bengali name that many of the
non-Bengali speaking people of the State might find difficult to pronounce,”
said Pratik Mazumdar, a final year B.Com student of St Xaviers' College,
Kolkata.

Almost
the same voice of dissent could be heard from within the Congress ranks. Om
Prakash Mishra, general secretary of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress, found
the whole exercise “unnecessary” and “superfluous”. “This will not bring in the
intended benefit as a name change of a State can hardly be justified on the
grounds of either administrative convenience or supposed support due to a change
in the order of precedence in the alphabetical arrangement of the States in the
Indian Union. This purpose would rather be served then by renaming our State as
either Bengal or Banga,” he told Frontline.

HISTORICALLY INAPPROPRIATE

The
eminent historian Sabyasachi Bhattacharya also feels that this change is no
change at all. “I see no reason why West Bengal should still preserve its
fragmented identity like this. There was once an East Punjab for a very brief
period after Partition, but that name was soon dropped and it became simply
Punjab. There was also an East Pakistan province which later became a sovereign
nation, Bangladesh. Such things should not affect the identity of the people of
a region,” he told Frontline. Bhattacharya believes that the most applicable
name would have been “Banga”. “The name is not only present in the national
anthem – Dravida Utkala Banga – but also has its origins in ancient texts and
in Sanskrit. The term West Bengal was coined by the British during the
partition of the region,” he said.

The
origin of the name of Bengal is shrouded in mystery. In History of Bengal
(volume one), edited by R.C. Majumdar, the historian H.C. Raychaudhuri wrote
that there was no mention of the land now known as Bengal in Vedic hymns.
However, the Puranas and the epics, which came later, refer to various parts of
the region as Vanga, Gauda, Pundra and Samatat. In the epics, there is
unambiguous mention of the “Vangas” – the people of Vanga. In the Ramayana,
they are mentioned among a number of peoples with political relations with the
kings of Ayodhya; and in the Mahabharata, Bheema, after defeating the lord of
the “Pundras” (as people of north Bengal were referred to), is said to have
attacked next the king of the Vangas.

From
the seventh century onwards, the Buddhist Pala dynasty consolidated its hold
over the region, which became a major centre of Mahayana Buddhism. Around this
time, Gauda (in the central part of West Bengal) became the power centre of the
region. In the subsequent consolidation and unification of the region that took
place under the Pala and Sena dynasties, references to Vanga as a political
unit can be found in various inscriptions dating back to the latter half of the
eighth century. In fact, the titles Vangapati and the Gaudesvara for the ruler
of the region became interchangeable. The name “Vangaladesha” can be traced
back to the 11th century in epigraphic and literary records.

The
Sena dynasty fell to the cavalry of Ikhtiyar-ud-din Bhaktiyar Khilji, who, it
is said, conquered the region with just 17 soldiers on horseback. Thus began
the Muslim rule in the region, culminating in the Mughal conquest in the 16th
century. Abu'l-Fazl (1551-1602), the author of Akbarnamah, threw some light on
the origin of the name of Bengal when he wrote: “The original name of Bengal
was Bang. Its former rulers raised mounds measuring 10 yards in height and 20
in breadth throughout the province which were called ‘al'. From this suffix,
the name ‘Bengal' took its rise and currency.”

THE FIRST PARTITION

The
term West Bengal first came into being in 1905 when Lord Curzon, the then
Governor General, decided to partition Bengal into two halves on administrative
grounds, though many people believed that the move was meant to stamp out any
republican sentiment that was on the rise. East Bengal was created in October
1905, and along with Assam, this new province was placed under a Lieutenant
Governor; West Bengal, along with Bihar and Orissa, was placed in charge of
another Lieutenant Governor. This unleashed a massive political agitation,
which forced the colonial rulers to review their decision. Finally, the two
parts of Bengal were merged into one province under a Governor in 1911. Bengal
was once again partitioned in 1947 when one half became East Pakistan, and the
other once again became West Bengal, this time a State of the Union of India.

GOVERNMENT STANDS ITS GROUND

In
the face of mounting criticism, the Chief Minister stood her ground. On August
23, she defended the move in the Assembly, saying that the choice of
“Pashchimbanga” (which she admitted was already in vogue even in administrative
use) was a politically unanimous one and was final. The upshot of the whole
exercise, which reportedly took just 10 minutes, was simply to drop the English
version of “Pashchimbanga”. “In the past we have had endless arguments around
the choice of a name, but till now there was no change and the name West Bengal
remained. This time we were all determined to change it,” said Mishra.

KOLKATA:WHAT are the high
points of the first 100 days of the TMC-Congress government in West
Bengal?

Organised terror against the opposition, which
has claimed lives of 33 Left Front activists, injured hundreds; 684 women were
assaulted physically, 508 molested and 23 raped; nearly 40,000 had to leave
their homes under threat. An unprecedented extortion campaign is going on in
villages.

Campaign of political vendetta, using state
police forces for that purpose. More than 1500 false cases have been registered
against the CPI(M) leaders and activists. CPI(M) leaders, including MLA and
former minister Sushanto Ghosh, have been put in prison. CPI(M) state committee
members have been targeted too.

Land grabbing and comprehensive attack on
panchayats.

A unique budget without budgeting, without
finalisation of sources of revenue and expenditure.

Refusal to discuss budgets of important
ministries, including home, in the assembly. The chief minister herself is
in-charge of these ministries.

Reversal of decisions, hastily announced by the
chief minister and other ministers. One of the more important one is retarding
on the re-establishment of the legislative council in the state.

Lots of nominated committees with the TMC and
pro-TMC people, presiding over the jeopardising of normal governmental
functions.

May 20, 2011

Mamata Banerjee sworn in as the Chief Minister
of the state at 1.01 pm on 20.05.2011 (not at 1 pm!). It was propagated earlier
by Mamata that their cabinet would be smaller in size. But the reality was
absolutely different. The cabinet was as big as it can be. Even Anandabazar
Patrika's editorial dated 21.05.2011 expressed discontented note on that.

The Chief
Secretary called the name of Kashinath Mishra, TMC MLA from Bankura, when he
was calling the names of the ministers for taking oath. Mishra didn't move.
Some media carried the news that Mishra has been dropped from the probable
list. But the official list was not corrected. First instance of maintaining
liaison.

Chief Minister's Office Decorated at Her
Own Cost?

It was propagated that Mamata Banerjee has paid
Rs. 2 lac for the decoration of her office at Writers' Building. But according
to the Public Works Department only the electrical renovation of CM's office
cost Rs. 13 lacs 95 thousand. It is clear that Rs.2 lac is too insufficient for
the cause but enough to get the media hype.

Treasury is Empty. But…

It was a constant campaign of TMC that the
treasury of the state has become empty during Left Front's tenure. Let's look
into some developments:

a) CM announced on 24 May that the teachers will
get their salary on 1st day of each month. How could she manage the money?

b) Cabinet took decision on 8 June that they
would recruit 46000 teachers. How their salary can be managed?

c) The
Higher Education Minister announced on 21 June that 300 new colleges and 5 new
Universities will be formed in the next five years. Did he mean that the
financial infrastructure of the state is strong enough to carry on the associated financial liability?

d) The new Government is taking initiation for
creating Bidhan Parisad, which would involve extra expenditure of Rs. 100
crores. How can this fund be managed?

e) A project of Rs. 10 crores on beautification
of the city has been taken. Then the treasury is certainly not empty.

Whatever they have campaigned all are
blatant lie.

EMPLOYMENT

The document, celebrating 90 days, published by
the new government has proclaimed that it has already provided jobs for
2,79,286 people in its first months. The break up shows that out of those jobs
2 lakh jobs have been given in the private sector and the 79,286 have been
provided in the government offices. The government did not bother to disclose
the names of the private sector where the jobs have been given and the
government sector break up reveals that most of the posts have been proposed
and created. So, as yet the government has not provided any jobs.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Most of the works cited in the book released by
the TMC-led government are the repetition of the projects and works undertaken
by the government of West Bengal during the tenure of the Left Front.

The modernisation of the Coochbihar Airport and
the commencement of Kolkata-Coochbihar flight - in reality, the whole
infrastructural work, was done during the time of the Left Front government and
the project was waiting for its official inauguration.

The draft policy for the street vendors was also
introduced during the time of the Left Front government, although it is falsely
cited as a success of the new government.

A project of Rs 500 crore for job generation and
a project of Rs 800 crore for building urban houses, has been falsely claimed
by the TMC government as its success. They were also the projects taken up by
the Left Front government.

Educational Sector is Under Attack

This small period can be related with the
semi-fascist terror in West Bengal during 1970's. The Governor, with his
capacity of Chancellor, wrote a letter (dated June 15) to all the Universities
not to take any policy decision and not to do anything beyond routine work. The
direction of the Governor was in anticipation of policy change by the newly
constituted committee in the education sector. It has made all the process
stalemate. Several-elected Students' Union were attacked. Many SFI supporters
were prevented from collecting admit cards of University examination. A
Professor was heckled by the TMC goons in Burdwan University for citing Karl
Marx in a lecture.

Gorkhaland instead of 'Switzerland'

Left Front Government controlled the demand of
separate state by extending autonomy. With the creation of Darjeeling Gorkha
Hill Council (DGHC) Left Front Government solved the movement for separate
state 'Gorkhaland'. It was an instance for entire country to solve separatist
demand. But the new Government legitimized the demand of separate state raised
by their supporter Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) by signing the agreement on
Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). The pact was signed on 18 July
between the State Government and GJM. The agreement was not even discussed in
the assembly. Many maujas of Tarai and Doors were included under GTA. Bimal
Gurung, the GJM chief, therefore said afterwards that this pact is the first
step towards 'Gorkhaland'. In the election manifesto Mamata said in her own
populist tone that why North Bengal cannot be Switzerland? But after becoming
the Chief Minister she could only ensure the 'Gorkhaland'.

Reversal of Land Reform

The class interest of TMC has become unmasked.
The rank and file of TMC is taking stance for the interest of landowners. Only
in this short period 508 peasants were evicted from 830 acres of land; 4707
legal patta-holders (vested land given to landless) were evicted from 1529
acres of land and 3511 bargadars or sharecroppers were evicted from 1522 acres
of land. 124 incidents of looting the crops from total 1486 acres of land
happened in this period. In total 68 incidents 165 acres of land were destroyed
to teach CPI(M) supporters a lesson.

In Haroa of North 24-Parganas, landlords with
the help of TMC land-grabbers were trying to drive away poor farmers from their
land and prevent them from cultivation have organized attacks. The police and
the administration were offering full support to the attackers. On July 9, when
evicted peasants assembled at a place called Gazitala in Haroa to reestablish
their right to cultivate in their own land to resist forcible eviction, TMC
land-grabbers armed with deadly weapons attacked them from different direction.
Even the police opened fire on the assemblage of those poor cultivators without
any provocation. Four persons, all tribal, were injured in this joint attack of
TMC and police. 12 rounds of firing by the police marked barbaric act of
terrorism. The joint attack of TMC and police also took place in Dwipkhanda
village of South Dinajpur where they opened fire on an assemblage of peasants,
patta-holders and sharecroppers.

The peasants of the state are now resisting the
attack and holding the red flag tight.

Joyous Recall of Their 'Martyrs' by TMC

On 21 July of 1992, Mamata Banerjee went to
capture the Writers' Building forcibly. Left no way out police opened fire and
13 persons of that rally died. It was a matter of grief but an outcome of
irresponsible and undisciplined political movement. TMC claimed these people as
their martyrs and used to observe the day every year. But this year the
observation turned into celebration. The film star public representatives of
TMC presented show of entertainment in memory of those martyrs. The other film
personalities even danced with their popular film songs. The joyous event left
one clear message that using dead bodies for narrow and dirty political purpose
is no more required in this changed context.

Media are also Under Threat

Even the fundamental right is under threat. You
have to be faithful to Mamata Banerjee even you are a journalist in the
Mamataland.

The Chief
Minister shouted at the reporters of 24 Ghanta television channel on 30th June
at Writers' Building when they asked her about the causes of child death in
Government Hospital. A pro-TMC Bengali newspaper 'Bartaman' also expressed
their concern on this autocratic attitude in a report dated 1 July. They wrote,
today the CM has shown red eye to the journalists of one house. If there is no
protest same will be the situation of the reporters of the otherhouses. For writing such thing 'Bartaman' was
cautioned by TMC. In two successive issues (8 July & 15 July) of 'JagoBangla', their organ, this opinion of the
said vernacular daily was criticized openly.

The
Associate Editor of 'Sambad Protidin' was present in the dais of the party
program of TMC on 21 July. The Editorof
the same newspaper got place in the Rajya Sabha for extending political support
to TMC.

When the
reporters asked Bimal Gurung about their stand on Gorkhaland', the CM stopped
the reports from askingsuch questions.
The incident happened on 30 May at Writers' Building.

Voice of Autocracy

The voice
of the opposition was gagged for two years during emergency but the CM of West
Bengal said on 21 Julythat the
opposition should not speak for next ten years.

The
Governor uttered 'maa-mati-manush', the slogan of TMC, in his address in the
Assembly on 13 June. Even theGovernor
had to synchronize his voice with the political slogan of TMC. Just after a few
days Left Front observed the35-year
completion of emergency. How well the present and the flash back converge!

The CM
visited Bangur Institute of Neurology in Kolkata on 26 May. The program was not
known to the Director of the Institute but her pet media were well aware of the
schedule. CM entered into the wards with the media personnel.

The
Director expressed his concern that it can invite infection to the patients. CM
was furious and asked the Director to meet her at the Writers' Building. The
Director expressed his prefixed schedule of many surgery cases. A notice ofsuspension was served to the Director on that
very day without any show cause notice.

Kolkata will be London!

Please don't laugh. Just look at the first step
of this process initiated by Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Introspection
towards the budget of KMC would reveal that the allocations in all priority
sectors have decreased in this financial year. In 2010-11 Rs. 276 crores was
allocated in road maintenance whereas the budget allocation of 2011-12 in the
same sector read Rs. 180 crores. In 2010-11 Rs. 129 crores was allocated in slum
development whereas the budget allocation of 2011-12 in the same sector read
Rs. 84 crores. In 2010-11 Rs. 114 crores was allocated in health sector whereas
the budget allocation of 2011-12 in the same sector read Rs. 95 crores. The
allocations on disaster management and conservation of parks & water bodies
have also reduced to Rs 2 crores and Rs 4 crores respectively. Only
illumination on parks and roads got higher allocation in this year. From
previous year's Rs. 150 crores it raised to Rs. 240 crores. One can easily
understand the policy of exterior decoration and curbing the fundamental needs.
This is the first chapter of Kolkata's transformation into London!

'Spit' Ranjan in The Court of North
Bengal University

Ranjan Silsharma was nominated to the Court of
North Bengal University. Who is the person and what was the reason of upsurge
after his nomination? This person was involved in spitting to the District
Education Inspector when he was leading a demonstration of TMC. TMC expelled
him but he rejoined the party after winning the Siliguri Municipal Election as
an independent candidate. The same person is now the Deputy Mayor of Siliguri
Municipality. One can easily understand how cosmetic the expulsion was. This
person with such background was nominated to the Court, the highest decision
making body of the North Bengal University by the new Government. The reaction
was very bad from all the corners. Ranjan was forced to resign. But his
selection was an ominous indication and his promotion as the Deputy Mayor of
Siliguri Municipality in further substantiates that.

Purchasing Laptops Without Tender

The State Government felicitated 62 top students
who passed Madhyamik and Higher Secondary in the month of June. All of them
were presented a laptop made by one local company, which supported TMC in
different issues. The Government did not invite any tender for purchasing
laptops. This resulted criticism from concerned corners. The unofficial organ
of TMC 'Sambad Protidin' wrote that the laptops were gifted by the concerned
company. But 'Anandabazar Patrika' wrote that those laptops were bought by the
CM and it was her personal gift. The two media houses eager to guard this
illegal transaction could have discussed between themselves! One should also
not forget that the successful students of Madrasahs were not felicitated by
the Government, which was a departure from the activities of the Left Front
Government.

Mamata's 'Daharbabu'

She was not CM then. Mamata said in an interview
with Star Ananda television channel that Rabindranath Tagore offered fruit
juice to Mahatma Gandhi when he broke fast in Beleghata, Kolkata. Shocking it
was! Actually Rabindranath died six years before Gandhiji's fast at Beleghata.
So what? When Mamata speaks press can't question. Now what she did after
becoming the CM? She was addressing a Government program to observe Hul
Revolution of 1855 and to commemorate the death of legendary tribal leaders
Sidhu and Kanhu in the said Revolution. The program was organized at Sidhu Kanu
Dahar at Esplanade, Kolkata. Dahar means street and the Left Front Government
named the adjacent road of Curzon Park by the name of Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu
Murmu. Mamata mistook "Dahar" to be the name of a third tribal
leader. She kept on saying "Dahar babu" (Mr. Dahar) without realising
her mistake even once. As the programme went on, "Dahar babu" kept
cropping up now and then.

Issue of Appointment Letter Stopped in
Education Sector

Sishu and Madhyamik Sikshakendras are the
centers, which impart education up to class VIII standard, and generally the
under-privileged children come in these centers. The TMC Government stopped
issuing appointment letters to the teachers of those centers on 28 July. The
7th Left Front Government took initiation to acknowledge the service of those
teachers by increasing their salary. The extension of the scheme was to make
them permanent. Issuing appointment letters were also initiated in the tenure
of the 7th Left Front Government. Now said order of the TMC Government has put
the future of 68000 teachers of these centers before a question mark. Near
about 19 lacs students are connected with these centers. Their future too is
under a threat.

Soumitra Chatterjee's Play Stopped!

The legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee,
aged 76 years, still is tireless in stage. The Left Front Government launched
Repertory at Minerva Theater and sanctioned the play King Lear. Soumitra
performed the lead role in the play. Its first performance was held in November
2010. After that all shows of the play was house full. But the TMC Government
dissolved all repertory committees and stalled all shows. The play has not been
staged, as the theatre group is not being given bookings either in Minerva or
in Rabindra Sadan, the two auditoria where the play was being staged before.
The obvious question is being raised that even Soumitra Chatterjee is being
subjected to political vendetta?

West Bengal to Follow The Ruinous Path of
Rail?

Mamata Banerjee, in her tenure as Railway
Minister, only promoted populism and gimmick. Even the Minister of State for
Railway Bharat Singh Solanki told in question-answer session in Rajya Sabha on
13 August that they need 1 lac 25 thousand crores of rupees to complete the
projects of setting up new tracks, change of gauge and double lining. But the
department's financial condition was not congenial to finish these projects. In
2008-09, total excess fund with the Railways was Rs. 4457 crore, which
decreased to less than 1 crore in 2009-10. Safety and security of the
passengers were also under serious question.

On 5 August, CAG reports on railway was
published and discussed in Parliament. The report showed that on one hand the
income of the department decreased and on the other hand the expenditure
increased heavily. Railway Development Fund is almost empty. The report further
said that during 2007-08 total excess fund with the Railways was Rs. 13431
crore, in 2008-09 it came down to Rs. 4457 crore and in 2009-10 it read as Rs.
75 Lac. Reserve Fund and Depreciation Reserve Fund also has been hugely
reduced. Maintenance of tracks, buying of new engine, coach and wagons are
therefore being affected.

The said scenario has happened only due to
ignoring fundamental aspects of Railway and using the service solely for
electoral dividend. Should our State follow the same ruinous path?

'Dalatantra', The Party Rule

The word 'Dalatantra' (party rule) was used to
defame Left Front especially CPI(M). It was created by media as a part of hate
campaign against CPI(M). But the boasting of party rule is now becoming
prevalent in every step the TMC led Government is initiating. Every committee
constituted in this brief period unquestionably speaks of 'Dalatantra'. Same
sort of committees Mamata formed in her tenure as Railway Minister and placed
her pet intellectuals in those committees. Now we can see the Bengal model of
that misdeed. The Government nominees in Governing Bodies of Government Aided
Colleges were asked to step down before their term is over. It was initiated to
provide berth for the TMC minded intellectuals. The elected Chairmen of
District Primary Education Councils were advised (?) by the School Education
Minister to resign. The incident happened on 3rd June. The chairmen of West
Bengal Council for Primary Education, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education,
West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education and School Service Commission
were replaced by known pro-TMC faces before their term are over.

Bank had to issue Notification against
TMC Leader

The Sabhadhipati of South 24 Parganas Zilla
Parisad Samima Bibi and her husband Rahman Ali Sheikh were accused of not
repaying the loan taken from Vijaya Bank. Even the bank authority had to issue
a notification with the photograph of them stating that they are going to start
legal action against them as the couple had outstanding of 15 lacs 80 Thousand
809 rupees. The notification was also issued for public interest. Rahman Ali
Sheikh took the loan and Samima Bibi was his guaranteer. Mamata claimed South
24 Parganas Zilla Parisad as the best one in the state. The performance of the
Sabhadhipati very well speaks of the standard…

'Unwilling Farmers Demand Only 40 Acres
in Singur!

The Singur problem has not removed but has
become much complicated when the new Government had decided to return the lands
to the 'unwilling farmers' by the force of the special legislation. The
Government stipulated one month time for the 'unwilling farmers' to apply for
returning their land. After end of that period on 22 July only 310 'unwilling
farmers' claimed as minimum as 40 acres of land. It is becoming amply clear
that the demand of TMC to return 400 acres of land was a sinister political
motive.

Result of Higher Secondary Examination
Leaked

The result of Higher Secondary Examination was
leaked in Star Ananda television channel well before the official press
conference. The incident happened on 4th June. Chief Minister not only defended
the incident but openly said in the Writer's Building that she would compensate
the loss of other channels by giving some scoops. This unethical and illegal
thing was only designed to favor the channel that has almost become
spokesperson of TMC.

JANGAL MAHAL

The chief minister had earlier declared that
there will be 23 new ration shops in jangal mahal area to ensure food
distribution. Unfortunately, not a single one has been established in West
Midnapore district, where 11 of 23 blocks of jangal mahal are situated.

The government has a proposal for the creation
of 10,000 Special Police Officers to tackle the 'Maoist' situation in jangal
mahal like the Chhattisgarh government. In this context the government has
completely dumped the Supreme Court’s order against the creation of SPOs to
tackle the 'Maoist' problems.

Meanwhile, the 'Maoists' have started to
regroup.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The performance of TMC-led government in the
specific sectors like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act is not only poor but also much lower than the performance made during the
tenure of the Left Front government. The contrast with the tenure of the Left
Front government can be easily seen. The government has claimed that a total
number of 1 crore 59 lakh working days have been created whereas the same was
15 crore at the time of the Left Front government.

Abundant of Country Loquor Factories

The source is a report published in Bartaman, a
hardcore anti Left newspaper. It said that the State Government has issued
license for 12 new country liquor factories. 20 such factories are in the
waiting line. The State had 15 country liquor factories before this initiative.
Getting the application form @Rs. 25000 and deposition of license fee of Rs. 5
Lacs is the requisition. The intention of the new Government is pretty clear…

Even Congress is Under Trouble

Krishnendu Choudhuri, Congress MLA of
Englishbazar was assaulted by some TMC hooligans. The speakers in a rally of
INTUC in Kolkata on 23 June said that the working class of the state is under
attack since the new Government has taken charge. Sanjib Reddy, the All India
President of INTUC wrote a letter to the new CM Mamata Banerjee to take steps
against the attack on the working class of the state. Pradip Bhattacharya, the
President of Congress State Committee, also wrote letter to the CM requesting
her to take action against the increasing incidents of Congress workers being
harassed by TMC-backed musclemen. Such poor is the condition of Congress who is
an ally of this new Government.

MLA, Ex-Ministers are Under Attack

On 21 May, the TMC hoodlums ransacked the house
of Basudeb Mete who is the Left Front MLA of Ausgram. Gauranga Chatterjee,
CPI(M) MLA of Pandebaswar was beaten by Police and TMC goons when he was
leading a procession against forcibly land acquisition for extension of coal
mine on 21 June. On 22 July Abdus Sattar, the former Minister, was assaulted by
the TMC hoodlums when he went to Amdanga to stand beside the invaded CPI(M)
workers. Subhra Parui, the CPI(M) candidate in Khanakul, was assaulted and molested
by the TMC goons.

'Silent Terror'

'Silent Terror' is being organized in many
panchayats. TMC goons are threatening Left Front panchayat members. In some
places they have forced the sabhadhipati of some Zilla Parisads. In some
incidents after moving no confidence motion they are not allowing the elected
Left Front panchayat members to attend the meeting. By this way they are
capturing some panchayats. In some incidents they are threatening Left Front
panchayat members to sign any paper on their demand and ultimately connecting
them in false cases.

Political Vendetta Against Susanta Ghosh

Former Minister, present MLA and CPI(M) leader
Susanta Ghosh is facing an incident of political vendetta by Mamata Banerjee
Government. The police have acted on a nine-year-old case against Susanta
Ghosh. Shyamal Archarya, the complainant in the case, also has a case
registered against him. About a year-and-a-half ago a huge cache of arms was
recovered from his residence. His photographs in combatant uniforms were also
recovered. CID could not produce any substantial evidence against him. Susanta
Ghosh even had to be hospitalized after constant interrogation by CID for 30
long hours. Now CID is also filing other cases against Susanta Ghosh. The
direction of CID's action is unprecedentedly controlled by the Writers'
Building.

Tortured People are Forced to Suicide

Sadhan Samadder of Burdwan, Brishaketu Khamari
of East Medinipur, Gagan Digar of West Medinipur, Tapan Deb of Siliguri, Sarit
Josh of Burdwan, Abdul Matin of West Medinipur and Sital Maity of West
Medinipur had to commit suicide after being terribly assaulted by the TMC
hoodlums. Many of them had directly mentioned the names of TMC goons as
responsible in their suicide notes. Police is not taking any initiative to
arrest the culprits.

Rampant extortions ofTMC Goons

The trend is becoming open secret especially in
rural Bengal. The TMC goons are imposing hefty fines on the workers and
supporters of Left Front. The common people are also facing the problem in many
areas. 1911 people of 12 districts have been fined. The amount is huge - 11
Crores 45 Lacs 50 Thousand rupees. The minimum amount was Rs. 1000 per head and
the maximum amount was Rs. 33 Lacs on a single person. He was allowed to pay in
easy installments.

Heinous Conspiracy of Arms Seizure

The newly elected Government is using the
administration to conspire against CPI(M) in the name of 'seizure of illegal
arms'. This is being carried out to give legitimacy to those heinous attacks.
TMC has taken recourse to a campaign of 'arms search' in CPI(M) offices. A
section of media are also playing dangerous part in this hate campaign. TMC
gangs are attacking or cordoning Party offices and houses of Party leaders by
raising false allegations of 'storing of arms'. In most cases, they themselves
are taking responsibility of such a 'search'. In some cases, when the police
reached the place, ransacking had already been completed. The nature of
recovery itself clearly indicates that the weapons are being dumped in ponds
and paddy fields by TMC activists in the vicinity of houses of CPI(M) leaders
and party offices in the night and they themselves call the police and identify
those spots.

Flood and Inaction of Government

40 people died due to flood in West Bengal. But
the Government was not ready even to declare that as flood. Previously when the
Left Front Government asked central assistance to combat flood situation, the
then opposition supremo Mamata Banerjee called that 'man made flood'. Now in
power, she is not ready to acknowledge the fundamental problem of the common
people.

The Reign of Terror

30
Left Front activists, leaders and supporters were killed

12
women were raped

7
women were molested

157 women were severely injured due to attack

1622 Left Front activists, leaders and
supporters were hospitalized

1681 Left Front activists, leaders and
supporters' house were ransacked

750 offices of CPI(M) in all over the State
were forcibly captured

84
offices of different Left mass organizations and trade unions were ransacked
and captured

In
69 colleges of the State elected Students' Union were forcibly captured by the
TMC goons from SFI

17
boards of 'Ganashakti', the organ of CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee, were
either captured or demolished

293 Left Front activists, leaders and
supporters were arrested in false and fabricated cases

September 7, 2011

KOLKATA: Brace for regular, or shall we
say "rotational", power cuts in the city. West Bengal Power
Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) has drawn up a roster for shutting down
its three power stations as coal companies have cut down supply to the state
agency. They have threatened to reduce it even further unless the Mamata
Banerjee government pays up Rs 590 crore in dues immediately.

This roster will be sent to Writers'
Buildings soon. But more importantly, WBPDCL's decision will force state power
utility West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) to
prepare its load-shedding schedule because the shortage of coal supply will
directly hit power generation.

The ultimatum sounded by WBPDCL has
reached Writers' Buildings already, but no respite has been offered by the
Mamata Banerjee government as the state finance department has thrown in the
towel, saying it can't shell out anything for the moment.

Coal companies have cut down on supply
over the past two months because WBPDCL, which is the major power supplier to
the state utility, has been unable to pay for the coal. The supply has come
down from 18 rakes a day to 10. Things have come to such a head that WBPDCL
will now have to shut down the power stations. All five - Kolaghat, Bakreswar,
Bandel, Santaldih and Sagardighi thermal power stations - will be shut down
during various parts of the day, thus supplying less power every day.

The 'shutdown' roster will directly
impact power supply and, in turn, make WBSEDCL draw up its own load-shedding
schedule.

Power utilities have been going through
an abject funds crunch from the beginning of the current financial year as the
state government refused to revise power tariff in accordance with the coal
price hike from April 1. This alone has led to a loss of Rs 500 crore for
WBSEDCL.

Moreover, chief minister Mamata Banerjee
- who recently gave up the power portfolio to Manish Gupta - refused to allow
the power utility to apply to West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission
(WBERC) for the standard annual tariff revision. This would entail another Rs
2,500 crore subsidy for the power utility. But the state finance department, to
which the power department has applied for the required subsidy, has already
thrown in the towel, saying it doesn't even have anything to spare.

So, brace for acute power cuts like in
the 1970s and early-'80s. After becoming a power surplus state by the mid-'80s,
West Bengal is now walking backwards on the power front.